On October 5, 2010, the Champalimaud Centre for the Unknown, designed by renowned Indian architect Charles Correa, was officially inaugurated in Lisbon, Portugal, creating a major new complex that combines contemporary architecture, scientific research, and the city’s historic waterfront.

The Centre was built in Lisbon’s historic Belém riverside area, where the Tagus River meets the Atlantic Ocean. The location carries particular historical significance as the area from which Portuguese navigators once departed on voyages of exploration.

Indian architect Charles Correa was selected to design the project. One of the most influential figures in modern South Asian architecture and urban planning, Correa was also behind projects including the Kanchanjunga apartment tower in Mumbai, Jawahar Kala Kendra in Jaipur and the Gandhi Memorial at Sabarmati Ashram in Ahmedabad.

The first stone for the Champalimaud Centre was laid on October 5, 2008. Exactly two years later, on October 5, 2010, the complex was formally inaugurated.

The Centre was conceived as an advanced medical, scientific and technological facility, bringing research laboratories, clinical facilities, teaching spaces and administrative functions together in an environment designed to encourage interaction between researchers, scientists and medical professionals.

Correa placed particular emphasis on the relationship between the architecture and its location. The buildings and surrounding open spaces were designed to engage with the Tagus waterfront and the Atlantic beyond, while landscaped public areas restored access to an important section of Lisbon’s riverside.

The complex consists of two principal building blocks connected by an elevated walkway, alongside landscaped areas and an outdoor amphitheatre, integrating institutional architecture with public space.

Its inauguration was deliberately held on the centenary of the Portuguese Republic, giving the October 5 opening additional symbolic significance.

The project also reflected Correa’s broader architectural philosophy that major buildings should respond not only to their functional requirements but also to the history, culture, landscape and urban character of their surroundings.

The inauguration of the Champalimaud Centre for the Unknown on October 5, 2010, therefore marked an important addition to Lisbon’s contemporary built environment and became a notable international work in the architectural legacy of Charles Correa.

Source(s) :

Champalimaud Foundation